The Signing Off of Signatures

I just got my DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) renewed the other day, and it struck me with increasing use of DSC, the last option of the actual signing of the signature is vanishing. It took me back to when I was 15, sitting in the classroom, scribbling endlessly in the pages of my rough book—practicing my signature before the board exams. Back then, our teachers told us with great solemnity, “This is your identity. It can never change.” I tried loops, underlines, bold initials, even dramatic flourishes. My rough book was a battlefield of squiggles, each one asking, Is this me? An uncle - family friend, who fancied himself amongst other things, a graphologist, made it worse by explaining how a signature revealed personality—slanting upwards meant ambition, a straight line meant stability, clarity, etc. I wanted a signature I’d never get wrong, because it wasn’t just a mark. It was me on paper. Giving your signature felt like a rite of passage. Parents would hand you a cheque to wi...